The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: The Luminosity function of cluster galaxies

Dec, 2002
14 pages
Published in:
  • Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 342 (2003) 725
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200320092015202120250510152025
Abstract: (arXiv)
We have determined the composite luminosity function (LF) for galaxies in 60 clusters from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. The LF spans the range 22.5<MbJ<15-22.5<M_{b_{\rm J}}<-15, and is well-fitted by a Schechter function with MbJ=20.07±0.07{M_{b_{\rm J}}}^{*}=-20.07\pm0.07 and α=1.28±0.03\alpha=-1.28\pm0.03 (H0H_0=100 km s1^{-1} Mpc1^{-1}, ΩM\Omega_M=0.3, ΩΛ\Omega_\Lambda=0.7). It differs significantly from the field LF of \cite{mad02}, having a characteristic magnitude that is approximately 0.3 mag brighter and a faint-end slope that is approximately 0.1 steeper. There is no evidence for variations in the LF across a wide range of cluster properties. However the LF of early-type galaxies in clusters is both brighter and steeper than its field counterpart. The differences between the field and cluster LFs for the various spectral types can be qualitatively explained by the suppression of star formation in the dense cluster environment, together with mergers to produce the brightest early-type galaxies.